Summary
Infrastructure
The White House is ramping up its push for a bipartisan deal on infrastructure. President Joe Biden will meet with Democratic and Republican leadership from the House and Senate on Wednesday and top Republican committee leaders on Thursday. These meetings are expected to focus on the scope and price tag of Biden’s broader infrastructure package (American Jobs Plan and American Families Plan) as well as how to pay for the spending. With both parties far apart on infrastructure, the meetings are crucial for any chances of a bipartisan agreement.
The compromise could be a traditional infrastructure package (i.e., transportation, drinking water, and broadband) totaling $800 billion – the top of Senate Minority Leader Mitch McConnell’s (R-KY) price range and just shy of the $832 billion investment Biden proposed for those elements. We could then see Democrats push a large, potentially multi-trillion-dollar package – composed of their other priorities in the American Jobs Plan (e.g., home and community-based services, workforce development) and the American Families Plan – through budget reconciliation.
COVID-19 Response
Tomorrow, the Senate Health, Education, Labor and Pensions Committee will hear from key members of Biden’s COVID-19 response team. Questions will likely focus on the Administration’s efforts to achieve Biden’s latest goal – administer at least one vaccine shot to 70 percent of adults by July 4. According to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC), 58 percent of adults have received at least one dose and roughly 44 percent are fully vaccinated. The Administration’s recent actions include distributing $250 million for community-based organizations to support vaccinations in underserved communities and directing pharmacy partners to make no-appointment walk-up vaccinations available.
On Wednesday, CDC’s Advisory Committee on Immunization Practices (ACIP) will vote on the use of Pfizer’s COVID-19 vaccine in adolescents aged 12 to 15. Last Friday, Pfizer submitted its application to expand the current emergency use authorization for their COVID-19 vaccine to include adolescents. The company also began the process for seeking full Food and Drug Administration (FDA) approval for their vaccine.
HHS Budget and Personnel
On Wednesday, the House Energy and Commerce Committee will question Xavier Becerra, Secretary of Health and Human Services, about the Department’s fiscal year (FY) 2022 discretionary funding request. The Biden Administration requests $131.7 billion for HHS, a 23.5 percent increase over the FY 2021 enacted level. The increase reflects significant funding for public health modernization; research on cancer, Alzheimer’s disease, and diabetes; mental health; the opioid epidemic; HIV/AIDS; gun violence; and health equity-related initiatives such as social determinants and maternal mortality. With Becerra in the hot seat, lawmakers may also ask him about enforcement of the hospital price transparency rule (an issue of keen interest to both parties), implementation of the No Surprises Act, drug price negotiation, the COVID-19 response, and unaccompanied children at the border, among other topics.
The Senate is slated to vote this week on the nomination of Andrea Joan Palm to be Deputy Secretary of Health and Human Services. A vote has not yet been scheduled for Chiquita Brooks-LaSure, Biden’s pick to lead the Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services, due to objections by Senate Republicans to the Biden Administration’s revocation of Texas’s Medicaid waiver. Brook-LaSure is still expected to be confirmed.
House Floor Activity: Mental and Behavioral Health, Orphan Drugs, Controlled Substances
This week, the House will vote on a slew of bills that would authorize various new grant programs aimed at increasing access to mental and behavioral health services. The Senate Finance Subcommittee on Health Care and the House Appropriations Subcommittee on Labor, HHS, and Education will also convene hearings this week on policies and programs to bolster the federal government’s response to the mental health crisis.
- H.R. 433 – Family Support Services for Addiction Act of 2021
- H.R. 1475 – Pursuing Equity in Mental Health Act
- H.R. 586 – STANDUP Act of 2021
- H.R. 721 – Mental Health Services for Students Act of 2021
- H.R. 2877 – Behavioral Intervention Guidelines Act of 2021
- H.R. 1260 – Bipartisan Solution to Cyclical Violence Act of 2021
- H.R. 1205 – Improving Mental Health Access from the Emergency Department Act of 2021
- H.R. 1324 – Effective Suicide Screening and Assessment in the Emergency Department Act of 2021
- H.R. 1480 – HERO Act
- H.R. 2862 – Campaign to Prevent Suicide Act
- H.R. 2981 – Suicide Prevention Lifeline Improvement Act of 2021
- H.R. 2955 – Suicide Prevention Act
The House will also vote on H.R. 1629, which would modify limitation on exclusive approval or licensure of orphan drugs. Additionally, the House will vote on H.R. 768, which would create additional requirements for drug manufacturers and distributors who discover a suspicious order for controlled substances.